First place ice cream

As some of you remember, there’s a tradition in the Dodger offices dating back to the 80s where the front office gets ice cream when the team moves into first place or extends their lead on the second-place team. I’m happy to say that at 3 p.m., everyone will be getting together for some Baskin Robbins and I’m hoping it’s a far more regular occurence than it has been thus far.

Kuroda last night was really something else. It was only the second complete-game one-hitter without any walks in the last 10 years in all of baseball. The Dodgers hadn’t had a one-hitter since that Wrigley Field game by Derek Lowe in 2005 and Kuroda became only the third rookie pitcher in the last 40 years to take a perfect game into the eighth (Orel Hershiser did so on July 29, 1984.

Meanwhile, that was the sixth straight game at Dodger Stadium that ended in a shutout, which ties a big league record. That hasn’t happened in baseball since Arlington Stadium in 1981.

We just got done doing a live web chat with Matt Kemp and throughout Delwyn Young was chiming in. Hopefully some of you got the chance to join in…there were more than 1,000 questions, which might be an all-time high. Pretty cool. If you missed it, the transcript will be up on the site soon.

And finally, for those who were weighing in on Dodgers Magazine last month, the newest edition hit stands yesterday. You can still get a subscription for the rest of the season.

Here’s tonight’s lineup:

Kemp, RF

Ethier, LF

Martin, C

Kent, 2B

Loney, 1B

Jones, CF

Nomar, SS

DeWitt, 3B

Billingsley, P

And after the game, keep tuned to FSN Prime Ticket for a half hour special on the Dodgers’ trip to China back in Spring Training. A very cool trip and from what I hear, the 30-minute special is just as good.

51 HRS for this group now, with ‘Dre leading with 10.
I count 265 RBI with Loney leading the way with 47.
Like old times -being tied for first place after being out for so long.
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This guy’s got a strange first name Jair Jurrjens.
I just hope the D’s don’t find his pitches strange.
We need to keep up the good work and give Bilz some run support.
The Dodger writeups were pretty good here in N.Y. thanks to Kuroda.
I hope they have enough ice cream because I think they’re gonna need it. CARRY ON YOU FORMER TEAM FROM FLATBUSH.

I picked a bad day to get sick (yesterday) :-(. missed a h*ll of a good game but I watched it. Will be at the game tonight though although not 100%. Two friends at the stadium kept texting me yesterday “you are missing a great game” Another that did not know I was not there was saying “Let’s go for Ice Cream!”.
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Can’t wait to see the new magazine and be back at OLOCR! Better get going now. ..

Positive thoughts people~~ Lets think of our great lineup and the great baseball we’ve been playing. We’re gonna get these Braves and take the series and climb our way out into the front leaving Arizona in the dust.
Not so much on the negative!
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ps. scurtis I’m still jealous you got to speak to matt today!

Here are some excerpts from Kemp’s chat:
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rmlvr55: Hey Matt, Do you have any pre-game rituals? And keep up the great work your an amazing outfielder :)
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Kemp: Me and Jeff Kent get together and listen to Lil’ Wayne to get pumped up!
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* * *
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jimmyadams: how does it feel to always be in trade rumors?
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Kemp: I would never want to get traded from LA. This is my home. I love it and if they ever traded me, I’d be very disappointed. Being in the rumors is just part of the game.
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* * *
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14la: What is the best advise that Andrew Jones has given you?
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Kemp: I honestly just watch how hard he works every day and I try to follow his lead. I hope all the Dodger fans will get behind him because he’s a hell of a player.
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So, he has a pre-game ritual with Jeff Kent where they get pumped up together, he urges fans to support the slumping Andruw Jones, and he is begging to stay in LA, which he already considers his home.
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Where, exactly, is the Matt Kemp attitude problem we’ve been hearing about? Since it’s obviously not his talent, production, ability, upside, or oversized contract that has him caught up in the trade rumors, shouldn’t he have said that his pre-game ritual be sitting alone silently in a corner or said that what he has learned from Andruw is how to strike out a lot?
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Obviously, these chats are to show a player’s good side, so maybe he’s not a clubhouse cut-up or an easy pupil, but he’s obviously at least not a bad guy.
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Anyway, in honor of Matt’s request, I will fully get behind Andruw–and I therefore expect Ned to fully get behind Matt.
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And Josh–we still need an explanation of this potential Sabathia, Blake, Carroll trade.

Leekfink- well said. The chat showed that Matt is a laid back, team supportive, nice guy. My only ongoing problem with him his grammar. But if his grammar is the worst part about Matthew Kemp, then i am sold.
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don’t know about supporting andruw- maybe i just wont boo him when i go to the stadium.
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I could sure go for some ice cream right now. There’s a whole other half of the season, and we’re in as good position right now as any other team in the west. The vets are beginning to hit their stride, and the “supporting cast” isn’t letting up. We NEED Nomar and Andruw to produce, so that there’s no chance of a Ned Colletti Panic Trade®.

Whats a hotel you all would recommend me staying at if I wanted to fly in from Chicago to catch a couple games on a weekend?

Unfortunately I have lived on the east coast my whole life and until recently havent been able to afford to get out West to see the boys at home. Ive probably seen the boys in blue on the east coast at least 100 times.

so scurtis, why the love of the team? i’d like to hear.
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i’m boring. i’ve lived in LA county my whole life with my dad having season seats. hahahah. i sound spoiled…at least i have proven i obvously don’t go to every game.

My dad who’s a Yankees fan used to take us up the road a couple hours to Cincinnati to watch some games. We lived in KY just across the river. I bet the first 4 years going to games we saw the Dodgers and I just latched on. Then started following them on tv when they played the Braves or when they were on nbc’s game of the week. Weird, but ever since I was about 8 I have liked them.

no, they are in the reserve section. i wish they were in the dugout club. ha, then i’d really be spoiled. Again, i think he sells them for $55 with the free parking included. i love our seats. i’ve been in other ticket holder seats and ours are cool cause you can see the whole game because we are in the infield. it’s good game perspective.

**btw, the $55 is total, not per ticket. that’s right kids, 2 ticekts and parking :) dad’s at the game..so i don’t have his list of “extra” tickets..but i can get a list up tomorrow for you.
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Very nice scurtis. what a good childhood memory. a dodger fan on the east coast. I was born in RI, but moved to LA when i was 14 months so i became a Cali girl. i never knew snow or seasons.

well this morning i told you i met matt and russy snubbed me. I did meet Schmitty and i told him that we need him back and that I hope he gets better. Man, he is soooo skinny. He was not a big man at all. Average height and as thin as a twig. it was so strange to witness.
i do hope he can make a comeback, penny too. I miss my bp.
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i kinda wish i knew the east coast a little. i was born with snow on the ground in december. no memories though.

I have the package at home and plus I work with this sports company called Stats LLC and my job is to actually break down MLB games and gather pitch type, location and velocity during baseball season. So we get the package at work and I actually can sit and work and at least listen to the game.

Ugh 3-0 Braves!

Schmidt is skinny? he used to be a little bigger, but Im guessing not much.

Having lived in Southern Wisconsin, about 130 miles north of Chicago, I’m well aware of the winters in that neck of the woods. My best memory of those years was seeing Nando beat the Cubbies 9-1 at Wrigley Field in the mid-80’s. I was the only Dodger fan in a group of 12 people. Sweet!!

dodger fans all over the nation. that’s really cool :)
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dad is the opposite. despite spending his money on the dodgers, he’s a red sox fan. he loves them more and has satellite to catch all the games here. both my parents are patriot fans as well.
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you guys cheer for the other coast! :)

kemp is the kind of player right now that when he hits he’s brilliant, and all the rest of the time he strikes out. i wish it was more hitting and less striking out. but at least we know the talent is there.

What situation? In 7 games Kemp at leadoff is at .400 OB. He has 6 walks and has 3 extra base hits. In 50 games Pierre had 10 walks. 10. Yes I said 50 games. 7 extra base hits in 50 games. outs are outs. so kemp’s are ugly.weak grounders to 2b or pop ups to lf make me more nauseas then Kemp’s Ks.

I think Kemp is doing a good job leading off over all. He’s having a rough night tonight, but we’ve done better with him leading off than we have since Furcal got hurt and he’s gotten on base quite a bit.

I could never be a major league player but if I were I would pitch low sliders to Kemp and rest assured that he would swing away happy as a clam. If everyone including coaches, management, and even the parking attendants get criticism than you better believe Kemps going to get it too! He’s like that kid with all the potential that thinks his way is the only way. Everyone here knows what he’s got deep down inside if only he would polish it.

I realize that he came to baseball later than his teammates. I’m not suggesting that we give up on him. Sometimes, his struggles are just a liitle hard to watch… I guess this game is officially an open mess.

bluecrewgirl- my dad always says ‘i live in red sox nation, but i am a dodger fan”
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he makes fun of me for putting on the dodger game when the red sox will be down 1 run in the ninth.
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or like today, he was watching th ered sox and i was watching the repeat. Loney beofre the bigs. we have different priorities.

thats a bunch of bs biddyboo. he ain’t trying to miss. He is being fooled. He will need to learn. But the thing is at age 23, if you miss with that slider he will punish you. Think how long it took Beltre…did u think Beltre was stubborn?

finally a run!!!!!
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agh, vinny is comparing the play to fedder and nadal, really vinny? lame
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kemp is a valuable palyer. he keeps his stats up, drives in runs and makes plays. if half the time he strikes out, the other times he has good hits, we are fine.

Last time with stats and i’ll go away. But seriously, Kemp is 23. In eqvilent to 1 season as a 21, 22 and right now 23 year old playing vs peers as old as 40 he in 700ABs (just over a full seasons worth) has

He does pierreseastmeetswest..this is Torre code (in my mind)…..i mean you know full well this is about as close as Torre will get without saying it. The only difference on the “road trip” was NO MAS JUAN PIERRE.

“The personality is good,” he said. “It seems like a loose bunch, but they’re attentive. The guys are into the game. I sense, not that they weren’t before, but they’re really into it, not that they didn’t care before. To me, it started on the road trip. After we beat the Angels two of three, maybe they took stock of the situation and realized maybe we’re pretty good. I sense a change on this trip.”

If Kemp could start to look like Ethier at the plate.
And with the Dodgers doing better in Pierre’s absence, it could make Pierre not as valuable looking to Torre.
But Kemp has to cut down on his strikeouts. both swinging and looking.
He’s a talented player I just hope he’s for us.

Good night. Last night was the highlight of the season. Again, those bums teased us. They win without a hit, get into 1st with a losing record, and everybody is happy. Now, they are back to what they do best. Cause hurt! While the good teams get better with trades. Eat the money and trade Jones!

haha so its not just me then? we don’t get primeticket so when i get to see them on kcal or fox and anyone plays bad i yell at the t.v. “This is why I don’t break down and pay the extra money to watch y’all every game!!” I deserve the scorn a little, jungar. When i write my silly blogs I tend to choose to defend the underdogs on our team… i, uh, won’t say who…

Everything seemed to go against us tonight but one thing I’m NOT worried about is that the D’Backs will get to far away.
I’m not sure but is most of Kemp’s outs via strikeouts?
He really seems to be battling it up there.
He looks very awkward up there.
I know he’s going to straighten it out but I hope he does it way before Pierre get’s back.

Trade Kemp for a baseball player. He stinks. A 3-1 Count and he swings at ball four on a pitch that only a Pakistani cricket player could hit. Ditto on his Whiff. He got another chance to fill the bases, but Matt puts on his cricket swing.
He gets a late jump on every fly ball and he can’t run the bases. I have given up on him. Maybe he will be a star one day, but I doubt it. He has been in the majors for three years. He has had plenty of time to get the fundamentals. Waiting for him to mature is like waiting for a 50% free-throw shooter in basketball to become an 80%er. It will be a very long wait. He has struck out almost 100 times already. Look seven home runs isn’t exactly threatening Babe Ruth.

Matt Kemp is already a very good ballplayer as is. He’s only going to get better.
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As to “three years” in the majors — no, that’s not accurate. He’s been in the majors for a total of less than two years and he has only had about a year-and-a-quarter worth of playing time. Don’t drink the NedJo Kool-Aid. Stick to the facts. http://www.baseball-reference.com/k/kempma01.shtml
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I’m goint to repost from the last thread as it is directly applicable to rintjim’s post. Plus I put a lot of work into the post so I feel like it merits a repost.
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“.300 avg and his 10 to 15 HR’s that valuable that he CAN”T be traded?” — kiper at 8:10 a.m. on this thread (last thread)
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You got the .300 average exactly right …. Not so accurate on the 10-15 HRs per year.
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Kemp has somewhat more than one year of actual playing time as of now — 757 ABs. 600 ABs per year is about normal for a full-time starter. 600 dived by 757 is about 80%. So I’m going to take Kemp’s major league totals and multiply them by 80%. Here we go:
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600 ABs
.300 BA
.341 OBP
181 Hits
19 Homeruns
31 Doubles
7 Triples
89 RBI
95 Runs
28 Stolen Bases
170 Strikeouts (Not hiding the bad)
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The above is essentially the rookie year of Matt Kemp (Full-time Version). That is one hell of a rookie year!!!
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And he did it hitting all over the lineup and with managers constantly messing with his head.
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The ONLY guy who I would conceivably trade Kemp straight up for is Hanley Ramirez. I might not go into a state of total Dodgers rebellion if Kemp were traded for David Wright. Nobody — and I mean nobody — else is worth Matt Kemp.

xuniquexjyx – The broadcast is not time delayed. Supposedly. But, there have been times when I have been at the park and it has somehow gotten delayed, but then i has caught up. It is a little strange, but it’s worth bringing a radio.
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Bad game tonight. I did not get to see it, and now don’t want to watch the replay. Bad Chad, Bad Matt. As someone who has been trumpeting Kemp in this space, I have to acknowledge that 4 Ks is awful. Truly awful. And awful for a lead-off hitter.
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But I still would not trade him. He’s good now and has monster potential. I think he’s been struggling a little, and thought that last night might have been coming out of it, but back in tonight. And even struggling for the last week, he has played well. So, while tonight was bad, I am firmly convinced that he is still going to have a very big year when all is said and done, and a huge career.
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Kemp (also like Bills) is incredibly young an is going to be inconsistent. If they were 27, it might be a problem but there is every reason to believe that they will improve both overall and in consistency, and I am willing to live with a little drama because I know that the kids can win–in the future AND now.
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Here’s the situation–1 game back, and two games under .500 with 5 left to play before the All-Star Break. If we can go 4-1 (and that would mean only winning 2 of 3 against the Braves by winning tomorrow night, and 3 out of 4 against the faded Marlins (who were crusing a month or two ago, and are now on their merry way from mediocre to bad), we will end the first half 1 game over .500, and probably in at least a first place tie (obviously, it depends on how the Diamondbacks do, but they have a weekend series in Philly). All that is asking for is to win the current series at home and the upcoming series at home against 2 mediocre teams. That’s really not asking too much at all.
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So the key is–can they bounce back? If they do, then it’s a big kick in the pants–every team, even the 1927 Yankees, gets beat, and sometimes bad and ugly. But the good teams bounce back, and if the Dodgers bounce back to win tomorrow with some good pitching and scoring a few runs, it will be clear that this team is for real.
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The secondary question is how will Torre react? In reality, this is probably a bigger question, and a more important one. And tomorrow’s game is really a bigger test for him than it is for his players. Torre came in as a supposed model of consistency and calm–hyped as nearly the baseball equivalent of Phil Jackson. But his line-ups–both the order and the players, have been different almost every day. But, in the last week we have had some consistency–Kemp leading off, Ethier 2nd, Martin 3rd, Kent 4th, Loney 5th (except one day for no reason 7th, and one day 4th when Kent sat), etc.
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A panicked manager will “try to make something happen.” He will move guys around in the line-up, give players “a day off to clear their head.” A good manager will have faith in his players. He will get them out there the next day–either through a Zen-like calm that characterizes Phil Jackson, or a loud, overheated, emotional exhortion that characterized Tommy Lasorda (or something in between that works).
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If the team bounces back, they pass a big test, but they have to be given the chance to bounce back, which means Torre has to first pass the test of having the faith in his players and his ability to teach the players, so before the players pass their test, Torre has to pass his.
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Watch this space tomorrow–if the same (or very similar) line-up and the same 8 guys go out there tomorrow, we’ll know. And if those guys 9 guys win, we’ll know. It’s like Jean Valjean–one day more–another day, another destiny.
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And as for what we can do, well, as Vinny would quote, “They also serve who only stand and wait.”

wow back to back great posts. So I am not saying BTW that Kemp is playing great baseball by any means. I just think some folks expect to much. Same on some other players. I do hope he gets hot. The last month Kemp is hitting .230

I can’t even begin to put into words how awesome this news is to the Dodger organization! It finally brings some credibility to the position of hitting coach to the team… not that Mike Easler didn’t. He’s a fine person but, he’s not a Don Mattingly and these kids grew up watching Donnie Baseball and will learn from quality baseball mind. This is most excellent news!

From watching Kemp in slow motion, it seems to me that he pulls his eyes off the ball at the last instant before he makes contact with the bat and that is causing him so many strike outs. I think he needs a good hitting coach and the Dodgers don’t have one at this point. Kemp needs to cut down on his swings when he has a strike 2 count on him and just try to make contact. He is becoming more and more like Dru.

boblee14@yahoo.com on I’ve noticed the exact same thing. It looks like Kemp takes his eyes off of the ball at the last moment before he swings. It might be he needs the laser eye surgery or maybe just a coach who can see and correct this. Josh, pass this on to management and see if they noticed it also.

The Dodgers, whose offense has struggled this season, will replace Mike Easler with Don Mattingly when the team returns from the All-Star break, The Los Angeles Times reported, citing an anonymous source close to the situation. Mattingly’s first game would be at Arizona on July 18.

i know you guys have already begun to comment. i’m VERY excited about this. it’s just what our young team needs..

leefink said it would be interesting to see how torre reacts to kemp’s bad day, and the lineup overall because that would show if he’s a good manager, by sticking with consistency and showing confidence. well here are some torre quotes that make it sound like he’s a good manager, and it sounds like he will be patient with kemp. which is just what he needs.

“This kid, we’re asking him to do some stuff that may be unfair,” Torre said of Kemp, who will likely hit leadoff for the ninth straight game on Wednesday against the Braves. “We’ve given him a lot of responsibility up top, but he doesn’t back off. He’s going to be aggressive, and when you have a pitched game like this where the pitcher doesn’t make many mistakes, those things are going to happen.”

“It’s not going to happen overnight, it’s not going to happen because he has one particularly good day where you think everything’s going to be comfortable for him,” Torre said. “I think he’s still searching and finding, and he’s working on it, that’s the one thing.”

Logan White vs Ned Coletti continued. McCourt is the referee. Thanks for that Saul. Great read there on Torre/Kemp Sara, thats good news eh?. And good news about Matingly. It was bound to happen and its good PR and good motivation maybe..

I’ve always been on Logan’s side and think that Ned is a truly worthless PR tool (rhymes with fool). That’s not to exclude Ng’s judgment, which I also respect. If there is really such a battle for influence and hopefully the GM job down the line, I’ll continue to root that Schidt continues to be the bust in his rehab. I think that was really a defining moment in Ned’s ineptitude, but compunded with the subsequent trades and FA signings with the noteable exception of Kuroda. I prefer to think that Ned had little of value to contribute to make that one happen.

I think that we read whatever the press writes and treat it as gospel. I have actually talked to many of the Dodgers and find that they are actualy nice people. Matt seems very grounded and has always been super nice to the fans. He is one Dodger who will always sign autographs. I will see him toight and ask him to sing, Amy. I have also met Andre, also one who always signs autographs, James, Russell, Chan Ho, Chad, Joe Beimel, and the list goes on. Chan Ho is very funny and very cool to the young fans. I think that having Mattingly as hitting coach will be an improvemnt. Andruw seems to be hitting better and has trimmed down quite a bit. It’s very disconcerting to hear all the boos when he is up to bat, especially from so called Dodger fans. I used to post all the time on this forum, but the negativity got me down. I thought I would just post my thoughts about Matt. He’s really an awesome guy.

Good morning ITD boys and girls,
Tough game for Bills last night. He has been sooooooooo good for sooooooooo long that I hated to see the good Bills go away. Hopefully it only lasts one game. I’m going to the game on Sunday and, if the rotation stays the same, Bills will be pitching on Sunday.

I read that about Mattingly. That is great news. I was sorry that he had a lesser role the first half of the season but after the break, he’ll be right in the thick of things!!! I’m looking forward to that!!! crash, I thoroughly agree with you that his first two projects should be Andruw Jones and Matt Kemp. But we are both San Buenaventurians, aren’t we!!! :)

Sabathia isn’t any better than the current staff. Does anyone remember his terrible April? He still sport an ERA of about 3.80, and he was horrible in last year’s ALCS against Boston when Cleveland could have closed out the series and gone on to the WS. And these are the names that Rosenidiot listed, not necessarily the truth.

Yes obi_wen, Ken Rosenthal is Ned’s PR man. That article was just ridiculous. Maybe, just maybe that there is “turmoil” in the Dodger FO, but perhaps that is a good thing. There are obviously different people with VERY DIFFERENT views on how this team should progress. I thought it before and I’ll say it again, we don’t need CC. We’ve got a good pitching staff on board already.

Rosenthal said, “Some in the industry cite McCourt’s interference. Others believe that assistant general manager Logan White exerts an inordinate amount of influence, discouraging trades of players that he once selected as the team’s scouting director.” Ya think Ken??? I don’t view McCourt as an interference – I think of him more as someone with his head screwed on straight and he didn’t like the look of the package offered for CC. And if Logan White is discouraging trades of players that he once selected, well then GREAT FOR LOGAN!!! He not only sees the value in his young players but knows that they’ll be great playing for the Dodgers.

But I think if Rosenthal said anything that I would agree with is, “If McCourt has lost faith in Colletti, he should replace him.” YES FRANK, FIRE NED!!!

xoxrussell-
Thank you. Matt is my favorite player and the nicest guy that I have met out of the Dodgers. His niceness to me really showed me
what a beautiful man and person he his. Asking him to sing, yes, how about having him answer my fan mail I wrote to him;) or a date? I am worthy, I promise :)

Obi wen, I can’t wait until August when the deadline is past. I hate them even considering Matt. He doesn’t want to be traded. And when they were talking about an attitude problem…I never saw it. I go to most of the home games since I have season tickets so I can see the interaction among the players. I have actually talked to the players. And I don’t know if there is anyone out there, especially a decent SS anyway. I’m not so impressed with the recent acquisitions anyway. Why do we go for the has beens anyway. We have to wonder why those teams are so eager to part with someone if he is so great he would bring us to postseason. Hmmm.

Ha ha Amy, he is unattached. Isn’t his smile to die for, especially when it’s directed to you?? He also has the best biceps on the team. Sorry, guys, just girl talk. I can tell that he’s a little nervous at the plate which is probably why he strikes out so much but he’ll be awesome after the all star break. I think that Mattingly will work with him. I think that Andruw will come around. And Andre is totally awesome with his homeruns and defense. Hang in there, girl, it looks like you are the only girl on this forum.

xox, no, I’m here and I’m a girl! :) And amy, if you get a date with Matty, go for it girl!!! :) Just make sure you tell him about ITD and how much most of us love him ! (I’m not going to say all of us because there are those that post here that don’t like him)

xoxorussell-
I am serious. I am glad he is unattached, I figured, he’s 23, in LA, focusing on baseball- probably don’t have a girlfriend, or a serious one. I do however, think that it would be so cool to hang out with him. I did write him a nice, adult, sweet letter a month ago. Do you think he’ll answer me?
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we’re the same age, same race, good looking people with good hearts. meant to be :)

cpompe- yes you are a valuable girl here!!!
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I am delusional sometimes, cause I really really don’t think it’s impossible to date Matt Kemp. I don’t know where this comes from. I guess because I met him, spoke with him, touched him. so that means he’s a real person..and btw, this back is so firm and sexy. We look cute together .

Amy, I will ask him tonight to look for your letter. Have you met him? He is very very nice and loves his mom. What else can you ask for. My heart is with Russell as you can see. I totally hate his Mohawk though. Sorry Cpompe1, I rarely read the comments on this forum because last year I pretty much was imploded out by some of the guys. When I was posting I was the only girl. It was very lonely

right on xoxoxrussell-
YEAH- the Faux- halk–come on Russy.
But it’s cool. He’s playing ball all the time..so let him do what he wants. He’s our little superstar.
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yeah, my letter was nice. I didn’t say “i love you , marry me” or “I’m the next mrs. kemp”. I hope top hear from him.
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It’s ok Scott- we love you too :)
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I met him but at the Stadium..lots of fans, not one on one time.
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but to me, It was the best day of my life.

That’s fine xox. It’s gotta be hard being the only girl. There were, I think, a few girls that were regular posters when I started posting regularly for about the last month and a half. The ones that come to mind is dnelly (formerly dnelson), saralovesrussell, and another one whose handle escapes me now. But dnelly (I call her dnel) was granted “den mother” status a couple of weeks ago.

xoxrussell… I’m happy for you girl! Looks like you’ve found some “girl power” over here for a change! Nothing like a few friends to get your back when the guys start to get a bit rude like they did last year!

I hear you, Amy. The Dodgers are pretty awesome guys. I always get caught up with the baseball side. I’m pretty intense Dodger fan. I bleed Dodger Blue. I even have a Dodger Blue car which I bought on Russell’s B-Day. I keep up on the stats and subscribe to two papers to read up on the Sports. You go girl.

amy you’re right. xox, you are always welcome here! I’m telling you that the other girls here like to talk about the cute guys on this team! Yes, I’m happily married, but if a cute guy catches my eye, well, all I say is, “I’m happily married but I’m not blind!” :)

Hey there kssparkuhl, caught me. Don’t tell the other guys I’m full of fluff. Like they already didn’t know. My heart is with my forum guys, don’t worry. I was just curious to see what was going on here.

totally awesome. I’ve been a dodger fan for about 20 years since we moved to ca. It’s been more intense for me over the last 3 years or so because I am now the same age as all of them. This youth movement rocks!
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I rock my PINK Dodger sticker on the back of my car :)
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i generally despise ken rosenthal, but if this trade scenario is true, ned coletti deserves to be euthanized. the NL west is there for the taking, and we could have gotten the AL cy young award winner, a solid 3rd baseman who would currently be among the dodgers in RBIs, and a legitimate utility guy. all without having to give up kemp, loney, billingsley, kershaw, ethier, martin, broxton, etc. ——————> http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/8328148

I think that the article reads that Coletti wanted to do it and McCourt said “why give away 4 players for one guy who will cost me 7.5 million this half a year and then to make sense of giving away 4 good players i’d have to sign the guy to alot of money (100 million) and money is important to me.”

I’m tired of the “quick fix” anyway. Let’s build something so we can be a power for several years instead of trading that away for a roll of the dice.

Even getting Texiera last year didn’t help the Braves. Sure, I’ll trade Izturis for Maddux any time, any place, but LaRoche and Mcdonald among others….I don’t think so. Sabathia was crap against the BoSox last October.

Ken Rosenthal continues to be lower than the lowest form of scum-sucking pond trash. He is, the most excreble being in the known universe, and I doubt that he is correct about the deal.
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But more importantly, why make this deal? We ALREADY have 3 potential third-basemen. Apparently, we would have dealt LaRoche (who, as Jungar will correclty point out, has consistently been viewed as a better power potential tham even Kemp), but still have DeWitt and Nomar and Blake’s expiring contract.
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And Jamey Carroll?? I can’t think of a more useless addition. A 34-year old utlitly man with only 6 years of big league experience (in other words, just a half step better than a career-minor leaguer, and now on the downslope of his career) who does NOT play shortstop.
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True, getting Sabathia would be nice, but our pithing has been fine. We don’t need better pitching to make us the front-runner in the NL West this year (which, still accoring to ESPN stats, we already are), and more pitching won’t improve our chances of winning the division this year. Yet Rosenthal says that a deal would have made us the sure lock in the division? How? Adding two useless parts to the offense does nothing.
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Basically, Rosenthal is trying to gin up excitement for a trade, because without trade rumors, he has no job. He does not report on the games, and by all appearances, knows less about actual baseball than an alien dropped in from another planet. So, he hopes he can basically bully the Dodgers into making a deal he can report on by saying inane things like “the Dodgers are on the clock.”
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Ken Rosenthal should crawl under a freeway and die.
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BUT–he did say one thing that makes sense. It appears that there are again front office divisions, with Logan White and Kim Ng pushing to keep the kids, and Ned wanting to make a trade. And McCourt is righly siing with Ng and White. But regardless of whether you think that Ned has done a good job or not, if he does not share the vision and philosophy of the boss, Frank should let him go and name Ng or White GM. Nothing against Ned (whom I have defended, from time to time)
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Good news about Mattingly. I like Easler, but Mattingly is the guy to get the job done. And no need to make any panic deals if we hope to fix the problem by putting in place a new hitting coach.

Coming home from the game last night, I listened to post-game Dodger Talk on the freeway. If one believes in the adage that one shouldn’t go grocery shopping when hungry, then I would add, one shouldn’t propose trades after a loss. Meaningless drivel. This 2008 Dodger ball club is NOT one player away…or even two. One or two SEASONS is more like it. Believe in the young players, give them time. Where is the patience??? Anybody out there REALLY want Jack Wilson? CC for three months? Rich “DL” Harden? Adam Dunn? Some mythical power-hitting knight in shining armor? I’ll take MartinLoneyKempDeWittBillingsleyKershawBroxton and meet you down the line in two or three years. And if Joe comes to his senses and White becomes the Dodgers GM you’ll see a consistent playoff team, and maybe a World Championship sprinkled in there if the breaks fall right. BUILD FROM WITHIN. I’m tired of eveyone else’s castoffs. The Dodgers have tried it that way for 20 years. It doesn’t work.

I like this lineup too. I hope they get back on track tonight and put together another run before the break so Ned doesn’t feel pressured to make a bad trade. I am keeping my fingers crossed that Torre keeps playing Andre against lefties because it shows the opposing pitcher on Sunday is a lefty and I am going to the game on Sunday and the last few games I have been to this year he wasn’t in the lineup.

a comment about nomar in the 3 hole.. i think he’s just borrowing it for the day that jeff kent rests. i’m glad russ got bumped down a bit in the order. he’s been pressing. the 5 spot fits him fine.

also, about ken rosenthal. the guy is an idiot. i honestly doubt that the trade was proposed the way he said it was. i heard kemp was in the deal, and i’m going to believe he was and that’s why frank veto-ed. plus, renting CC for 3 months just isn’t worth it. i still like laroche, and need to see him play more. and i want to see mcdonald pitch. FOR THE DODGERS.

oh, and girls, i’m SO glad you were having girl talk earlier today. sad i missed it. i’m sure all the boys were rolling their eyes, but whatever. we have cute boys on our team and we should talk about them!!

xoxrussell, i’m glad you posted. and there are at least 5 or so girls that are posting regularly. so you are far from the only girl. oh, and as you can tell, russell’s my favorite too. you’ll have to fight me for him.. haha, just kidding ;)

amy, i took a picture with matty too. he was really nice about it, because he was walking away from the crowd (security was rushing him) and i yelled “one more matty!”. and he was like, alright, and he came back with a smile! good body, GREAT eyes. haha. but i still love russell more.

Ken Rosenthal is like the National Enquirer arm of ESPN and about as accurate most of the time. Instead of what stars are hooking up with each other, it’s what players are supposedly involved in trades. I try not to read his column because I just end up annoyed.

I know that’s what he gets paid to do and the approaching trade deadline is like the ratings sweeps on tv, but there are still a lot of reporters that try to be as accurate as they can while still writing about possible trades. He seems to jump on every unconfirmed rumor.

kpookiemon–and I always respect yours, too. Obviously, the West is winnable, but there is no point to blow our future on a deal that gives us the West and then a 3-and-out run in the playoffs, and have to pick up the pieces and be worse off the next year. We have done that way too much the last 8-9 years (Dodger Thoughts had a great piece on that probably 3 years ago, but got re-posted).
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I really do mean the World Series. I believe that the guys we have right now are immensely talented and will improve. I think that they will actually improve to Championship quality over the next few years–as do you. But my point is that it may not be a year or two before they make the leap–it may be this summer. Heck, we may look back on the last stretch of games and think “that’s when these guys made the leap!” (It’s hard to say now–it will take hindsight.) The only thing that they need is time, practice, and experience, and they are getting that–and they might get enough.
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So, my point is that we may have a horribly underwhelming second-half–we may continue to play so-so even until September. But suppose that leap happens in September. This team, as constructed, could obviously win the division, and once in the post-season, could get hot and win it all. The pieces are there, it’s just whether they are going to come together this year or next.
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I am totally with you on not making any crazy panic moves or losing any of our young core for rentals or attempts to win. But I just think that the timeframe may be quicker.
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I won’t be disappointed if it does not happen this year (well, actually, I will be, but not surprised), but I just have a little more optimism that it could happen this year.

I wrote here yesterdaythat tonight would be a big test–first of Torre to see if he could put his faith in his players, and then of his players to come through.
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Then Torre made the one move that I had not really contemplated, which is resting Kent. I don’t think it has anything to do with anything other than he had planned to give Kent a day off (and with sinkerballer Lowe on the mound and Nomar still getting his legs back at shortstop, giving Kent this night off and starting Maza–even over LaRoche–makes sense). I would rather have Kent in there, beause I think his bat can help, and he can bounce back, but the old guy needs some days off. So OK.
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The other move is Nomar hitting third. It’s odd that Russ gets bumped down to fifth, but he is still going with Kemp to lead off, hitting Loney clean-up with Kent out, and putting Jones down in the order (DeWitt could maybe hit ahead of him, but that’s at least a fair question, and Maza of course hits 8th when he plays). And Nomar has, so far, been doing pretty well since coming off the DL. So while Torre threw me for a little loop there with a regular day off for Kent, I think that he basically is going with the same philosophy and players, and so I think he passes his test.
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So, now the players have thiers.
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Big game. Let’s win.

I can accept it but trade Kemp now is just nutz and you should learn your listen after the Martinez and Konerko trade. Apparently I’m a reg member on this board and you only posted on this board like 1 to 2 times a week maybe you need to stop posting negative thing about Kemp on this board ever again

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